SAR ASCENDANT / Book 1: Incursion of the INDEN

Chapters 21 to 23

Chapter 21

I wander the shielded areas of the farm compound at dusk, look for Jona. Hazel's right. There's money here. Not the latest tech, but lots of it. I appreciate what Zake's done. He has a lot to lose. Begs the question. Why risk it?

I pass the BioDoor to the dome. I see myself running down the furrows again. Liberation. I know there's no way in, not without Jona. I continue to walk. A series of panels, more than a dozen. No visible tech. I tap on a panel. Sounds hollow. I push on it. Hear a click, the door springs open. And there, inside I see tracers. Lots. I open and close more panels. More tracers. And KillPro lasers. Portable packs. There's enough weaponry to equip a small army. Why?

I turn around, and Jona's right there. "I stopped at the bunker. To see if you wanted to visit the dome again. I have some harvesting to do. We do our own, not the Bots."

My hand still rests on one of the panels.

"Did you open it?" he asks.

Hesitation. Jona sees it. I feel a touch of shame, don't know why. "Yes."

He nods, looks down. "Probably wondering about it?"

"Who wouldn't?"

"Of course. We're farmers. It's complicated."

"Try me."

"When you have what we have, when you've made a deal with the CorpPlex, there's some resentment."

"From those who have less."

"Yes, Sar. Not everyone, but there are pockets."

"We didn't see anything resembling a human signature between the city wall and your place. About a hundred and fifty miles."

"Don't let that fool you. There are people out there, lots of them, in well shielded underground compounds. There are tunnels between compounds, all guarded, all secured. There are alliances, and there are antagonistic factions. None of them are answerable to the CorpPlex, and all of them want a return to the days when there wasn't such a concentration of power."

"I can see how that might threaten you. You're visible, you're CorpPlex."

"No, we're not. We have a deal with CorpPlex, one we could not refuse. That does not make us part of them. But our farm also feeds a lot of people in the city. There are other farms like ours, even bigger, huge acreages. Together we produce most of what's needed. Even those people outside the city, we feed them. Those who oppose the CorpPlex, they'd like to end the deals. But they need us. It's a difficult situation."

"You, Jona? How do you feel about CorpPlex?"

"I think things will change. Maybe sooner than I'd have thought a week ago."

"The sky."

"Yes. What's your friend the Professor up to? How's she going to make this go away?"

"I wish I knew. Honestly. I don't always know with Hazel. But I have never doubted my love for her."

"Love?"

"She raised me, for a while."

"What happened?"

"My father happened."

"Want to share?"

I turn towards the BioDoor, say "I'll think on it. Right now, I want to pull carrots out of the mud."